This invention relates to swimming pools and is directed particularly to and a novel wall assembly for swimming pools.
A known system of construction comprises laying steel reinforced high strength concrete in the bottom of a pool up to and encasing the bottom of suspended fiberglass panels. These prefabricated panels are flat and flexible and are bent or straight depending on the desired pool shape. The known method of construction however does not provide proper lateral support for the fiberglass side panels. The result of this lack of support is warping and deflection of the panels during back filling operations and displacement of the pool sides by frost and ground movements.
Most pools are also provided with a coping or walkway extending about the periphery of the pool. Frost and ground movements can damage or displace this coping or walkway which may or may not be connected to the sides of the pool.
A common method employed to combat frost and ground movement of the coping or walkways is to tie the coping or walkway into a plastic or metal fastening member or trim molding, slip fitted down onto the top edge of the pool panels. The disadvantages of this, however, are that frost heaving of the back fill material can lift the coping clear off the panel. If the panel then becomes deflected the coping will not drop back into place when the ground settles. Furthermore, settlement of back filled ground under the coping or walk causes the coping or walk to settle and places a severe and damaging strain on both the panel edge and the coping or walkway.
In addition according to the above system of construction fiberglass pool panels must be disigned without an integral or molded in flange at the top because the panels must accept the grooved slip fit fastening member. Such a design permits a great amount of flexibility in the panel which is good for building kidney, oval and many other multi-curve design swimming pools, but it lessens the ability of the top of the panel to resist undesirable bending when the panel is finally in place. To build a good looking rectangular or straight sided pool with such panels is very difficult unless the panel manufacturer has imbedded iron angle or other reinforcing members into the backside of the panel, clear of the slip fit fastening strip in order to give the top portion of the panel sufficient strength to resist bending. Panels not thusly reinforced are too flexible. Panels with such reinforcing members are not however suitable for pools with curved sides because they cannot be bent as desired.